7 Times David Lynch Confused The Hell Out Of Us
5. In Dreams (Blue Velvet)
One of the key aspects in any of Lynch's work is his use of audio to unsettle audiences. In Blue Velvet, he takes joy in juxtaposing 1950s American ballads into a story about depraved sexuality and extreme violence. It's the perfect fit for a story where the American dream is turned on its head repeatedly, and quite violently.
Crazed Frank (Dennis Hopper) is the demented antagonist of the film: a sadistic man who takes pleasure in finding bizarre, fetishistic ways to assault and humiliate women. Lynch interjects Frank with strange, sometimes mournful reactions to music. And in one sumptuous scene, we see Frank's associate Ben (Dean Stockwell) lip-sync to 'In Dreams' by Roy Orbison; a performance which transfixes Frank, before sending him into an apoplectic fit of rage.
Frank plays the song again in a later scene when he attacks Jeffrey (Kyle MacLachan), and he paraphrases the lyrics with his own violent interpretations. It's these mesmerizing, un-hinged takes on instantly recognizable pop songs that Lynch revels in. They leave audiences both both bewildered and on edge, as they're no longer able to trust the familiarity of an old song when it's played in one of Lynch's surreal nightmares.